Legends of the Obsidian King
by Kraken's Ghost
Summary: Some legends are born and some legends are made. Uchiha Itachi's legend just is.
1. Silence

**Title:** Legends of the Obsidian King

**Author:** Kraken's Ghost

**Contact: **PM or review.

* * *

**First Legend - Silence**

* * *

Uchiha Itachi almost dies before he's even a year old.

He contracts a disease that isn't known by any medical name; no one infected with it has lived long enough to for it to be properly studied. The only name it's ever been given is Silent Fever, given by the civilians living in the poor districts where the disease hits the hardest.

The primary symptom is the silence of the afflicted. Within hours of infection, the victim becomes unable to make a single sound. The silence hides the deadly fever that follows it, which kills so quickly that caretakers often don't know the victim has died. The corpse is usually cold by the time anyone notices something is wrong.

When Uchiha Fugaku finds out his only son has the disease, he immediately demands that the Sandaime Hokage grant him unrestricted access to medical treatments and the highest ranking medics in the village.

The prospect for survival is bleak. Even the legendary medic Tsunade had failed to develop a vaccine or even a proper treatment for Silent Fever. With her gone, the odds of any miraculous medical breakthroughs are slim to none.

However, since it's the Uchiha Heir, the Medical Chief is more than willing to try. He assembles the best minds he has at his disposal and sets out to treat the child.

The village is witness to the sight of the Sandaime and the Uchiha Head leading a macabre parade of Medics and Doctors, who are in turn flanked by a host of nosy, scheming politicians, all marching to see an almost certainly dead child.

The troupe arrives at the Clan Head's manor to find Uchiha Mikoto sitting on the back porch, gently playing with her son.

Her perfectly healthy son.

The Chief is astonished when he examines the boy and finds that he has somehow successfully fought off a previously one hundred percent lethal disease. He can't find anything truly anomalous about Itachi, though he does note the babe doesn't fuss or make any sounds of protest that an infant child normally would. It's odd but, according to the boy's mother, that's the norm for him.

The Chief examines Itachi at the hospital complete with a full chakra scan, MRI, and blood work. While he finds traces of the virus still in the infant's body, there's nothing out of the ordinary except for the lower than normal brain activity, and even that can be easily dismissed as after-effects of the fever. Or it could just be that Itachi is slower than the average child.

After days of testing, the dumbfounded Chief can do nothing but write the Heir a clean bill of health.

When Hyuuga Hiashi, who'd managed to worm his way into the affair during the disarray, not-quite-jokingly suggests that Itachi be subjected to further medical study so that the boy will 'actually serve some purpose to the Leaf', Fugaku has to be physically restrained from incinerating the other Clan Head. While a loud argument breaks out in the background, Itachi merely sits and stares off into space.

His mother wonders if the fever damaged his brain and whether he'll ever recover.

His father wonders if he'll develop into a proper Heir and starts planning a second son.

Itachi keeps watching the birds outside the kitchen window.

* * *

**AN:** Companion fic to the Matters, Secrets, and Times Trilogy. There'll be twenty chapters in all, following the spirit of a 20 Stanzas fic, but not the format. The next chapter is already done and will be up fairly soon.

Much thanks to Frankto Vinneti and Mannequin Muse. Without them, this fic would never have gotten past a rough draft.

As always, let me know what you think.

-Kraken

V1.1 – August 14, 2008


	2. Catalyst

**Title:** Legends of the Obsidian King

**Author:** Kraken's Ghost

**Contact: **PM, review, or my blog.

* * *

**Second Legend - Catalyst**

* * *

When Itachi is four years old, he wanders away from his home.

Mikoto has been overprotective of him since the fever, normally never letting him out of her sight for more than a minute. But today she's just returned from another round of poking and prodding by the endless line of doctors that Fugaku has her regularly see. The exams are long and exhausting, made all the more so by the weight of her pregnancy. Today her willpower fails and she can't help but take a small nap. She doesn't want to disturb Itachi, however, and leaves him be in his usual spot, assuming that her son will remain there as he has for the past three years.

Itachi wanders for about half an hour when some older Uchiha boys see him.

"Hey, look! It's the retard-weasel! Hey, Shisui! Come look!"

Four older boys surround him, jeering and laughing. Itachi stares back, nonplussed.

They poke and make fun. He blinks a bit in surprise.

They get angry when Itachi doesn't react. One of the older Uchiha boys loses his temper and socks him in the face.

Itachi comes to lying on his back, staring up at the sky with an unfamiliar metallic taste in his mouth. His head suddenly snaps to the side as pain shoots through his jaw. The youngest boy, Shisui, has just found a long stick to hit him with.

The others follow suit.

He tries to move out of the way of one strike, only to back up into the path of another. He tries to roll, but a stick smacks his knuckles distracting him. He struggles to get away, crawling through the dirt even as the boys begin to scrounge for rocks.

"What do you think you're doing?!" A voice roars.

The four Uchiha boys scatter, but they find an adult hard to escape from. It's dark before the boys get back home. For over an hour, Fugaku coldly lectures them for their audacity in attacking the Clan Heir.

When he's done, he looks over at his excuse for a son only to find him gone. After twenty minutes of searching for the boy, Fugaku returns home resigned to enduring his wife's hysterics over the child's disappearance.

He's surprised to find Itachi sitting on the porch of their house, staring at the birds.

When Fugaku gets closer, he finds the boy has been washed, but his cuts and bruises haven't been treated. Good. Mikoto must be finally restraining herself from pampering him.

"You were in a fight."

Itachi seems not to hear him. Fugaku frowns and decides to press the boy harder.

"Defeat is unacceptable. You are young, but you are the Clan Heir. You are merely a year away from the youngest shinobi in our village's history and yet today you lost, pathetically."

As Itachi continues to stare off into nothing, Fugaku considers the possibility that the boy doesn't have the capacity to feel shame. He decides to offer some token sympathy, if only to test the child's reaction.

"However, do not resign yourself to failure. There is still the possibility to improve; your Sharingan has yet to awaken."

Fugaku turns to walks inside.

"Sharingan?"

Fugaku freezes. He turns and looks at his heir.

"…Yes. The Sharingan. When you gain its power, all of your opponents will fall before your eyes."

"My eyes?"

Fugaku stares at the boy for a moment before he replies, "Yes, your eyes."

Itachi continues to stare into the backyard.

"My eyes are special?"

Fugaku cannot help being slightly unnerved as he speaks with the child he believed could not form a sentence.

"You will understand when you experience the power hidden in your eyes. The Sharingan is the cornerstone of our clan's prominence. It is our greatest asset."

Fugaku's attempt at grandeur is lost on the boy. Itachi never breaks his silent observations of the local wildlife. His father waits for a response, then leaves feeling he's wasted his time. Within days he's forgotten about the whole incident.

Itachi sits and thinks.

Four months later, he believes he's figured it out.

He decides his ideas need to be tested. But to do so, he has to wait for the opportunity to leave his house again.

The chance arises when his mother's water breaks and his parents leave for the hospital in a rush. In their haste, they completely forget about their silent firstborn.

Itachi doesn't understand what is going on, but he realizes this is his chance.

He moves through the district, quietly watching his relatives. His small size and unassuming presence let him pass unnoticed.

He crosses the small Clan market into the gardens near the training fields. He's following the edge of a high road overlooking the river when he catches the sound of young voices. He turns and stares down the slope.

By the water's edge are the Uchiha boys that had beaten him several months prior. The oldest two appear to be the ringleaders as they direct the others' frog catching.

Itachi watches them for a moment, then walks across a nearby bridge into a small grove of trees.

Five minutes later the boys climb out of the river only to see the brat they had gotten into so much trouble over a few months ago.

They quickly realize he's completely alone.

"Hey, look! Retard-weasel got away from his momma again." A boy sneers.

"Hah! Looks like he wants a rematch." Scoffs one of the other boys when he spies what the Heir is holding.

Shisui sees Itachi's blank face, the long sticks in his hands, and laughs.

"This'll be as easy as squishing a squirrel with a broken leg and no teeth. And twice as fun." The oldest boy brags as he dramatically cracks his fingers and steps forward.

Itachi says nothing as he tosses one of the sticks to the boy.

"What the hell? How fucking stupid are you, shit for brains?!" The boy demands.

Itachi doesn't answer. He throws a stick to each boy. They glance at each other in confusion, then look at the oldest boy, waiting for his move.

The oldest Uchiha glances down at the stick in his hand, then looks up at the brat who gave it to him. He shakes his head and lets out a patronizing laugh.

"You're too fucking dumb to understand, but you have no idea how much you're going to regret this."

Itachi doesn't blink as he stares back.

"If you're lucky, you're too retarded to feel this!" The oldest boy yells as he charges.

The Uchiha strikes Itachi across the face. The Heir stumbles backwards from the blow, but quickly recovers his footing. He straightens, unruffled.

The boy growls, then lashes out again.

_A chipmunk evades a hawk's talons with a deft twist of its feet._

Itachi ducks, then launches himself under the boy's swing. The stick misses by over a foot.

The boy tries again. The stick misses by two feet. The next attack is even worse.

The boy grits his teeth as he glares at Itachi's impassive face. He turns and snarls at the other boys, "What're you asswipes doing?! You pussies afraid of a shitty little retard like _him!?_"

The boys jump at the sudden yell. They glance at each other, then one shrugs and dashes forward.

_An alley cat jumps at a swallow's back, only for the small bird to take flight just ahead of the feline. _

Itachi dives forward, evading the swing while twisting out of the way of a strike from the oldest boy. The two Uchiha boys converge on him, nearly clipping him with their weapons, only to both miss.

A third boy joins in. They form a partial circle around the young Clan Heir, instinctively trying to surround him.

_A fox cornered by a pack of stray dogs uses its small body to weave through the mob, leaving a score of bloody wounds in its wake. _

Itachi spins, twists, and dodges as the boys come at him. He dodges most hits, rolls with the worst, and sometimes lets a weak one land to avoid a stronger blow. Between their hits Itachi's hands flash, sloppy with inexperience, but still striking firm in the back of legs, in soft flanks, and in weak necks.

In minutes, two of the boys are on the ground in tears as they hold stung arms and bruised sides. The eldest is on his knees, panting with a level of exhaustion that surprises him. Itachi moves towards him, then pauses as Shisui steps between them.

Shisui's father is a kenjutsu master and he has already taught his son much of the basics of swordsmanship. Itachi takes several strong blows, but manages to hold his ground despite the pain.

_A pit viper locks eyes with a field mouse, freezing it before the killing strike. _

Itachi's expression doesn't change. His face is blank as his eyes meet Shisui's. The older boy stops in his tracks with a panic stricken look upon his suddenly pale face.

Then Itachi's fist slams into his throat and the boy collapses in a heap.

Itachi looks around seemingly satisfied, only to frown when the eldest boy struggles to his feet, cursing and snarling.

"You…You…fucking _shit-weasel!!_" He screams as his eyes turn red.

Single-tomoe eyes lock onto Itachi as the boy rushes at the younger Uchiha. The elder boy's movements are faster, stronger, and more confident. In an instant he's become three times the threat, yet-

_A raven swoops down and tears out a squirrel's eye with its black talon. _

The other boys don't really understand what happens. Later, during the inquiry, all they can remember is the aftermath.

Itachi's arm is raised, with two of his fingers rigidly pointed out. A small drop of blood falls from his index finger.

He stares down at his shrieking relative for a moment, then nods and walks away.

That day Itachi stops watching the animals in his yard.

His parents don't notice for weeks.

* * *

**AN:** Finally sat down to release Chap.2 on this site. The next chapter is already complete, but not fully edited. I'll try to release it within the next month, assuming Mannequin and I can get to it between our other projects.

Thanks go to Frankto Vinneti, who story betas practically all my fics, and Mannequin of the Muse, who has had the patience to edit this with me.

Once again, let me know what you think.

-Kraken

V1.2 October 18, 2008


	3. Friction

**Title:** Legends of the Obsidian King

**Author:** Kraken's Ghost

**Contact:** Review, send a PM, or comment on my homepage.

* * *

**Third Legend - Friction**

* * *

After learning about his son's sudden and unexpected victory, Fugaku decides it's finally time to teach Itachi lessons befitting an Uchiha Heir.

He decides to start Itachi with a simple exercise on chakra control by having him attempt a Fire jutsu. He has to rein in his frustration when the boy can barely expel embers.

"Study this. I expect your next attempt to be more successful. " Fugaku commands the Heir, handing him a scroll.

Itachi stares at the object in his hands. He looks up to question his father, but the man is already walking away.

About a week later, Mikoto informs Fugaku that his lesson wasn't a complete waste. Their son has picked up a hobby.

Itachi spends all day, every day staring at the open scroll. His eyes slowly trace back and forth across each line of kanji script almost a dozen times before moving to the next.

Fugaku watches his son trying to learn the basic lesson and can't contain his frequent snorts of disgust.

Clearly, the boy's victory over his older peers is a fluke.

Later, Fugaku observes how active and attentive Sasuke is while his mother plays with him. Almost casually, he suggests that perhaps their clan would be better off in the hands of their youngest son rather than their oldest.

Mikoto stares at him intensely.

"I hope you know what you're doing." She quietly says, then turns back to gently cooing at Sasuke.

Fugaku is certain of his decision, especially when three months later Itachi is _still_ reading the same damn scroll over and over again. The Clan Head is furious at how inept the child is.

The Elders have been pressuring him for over a year now to present the boy before them. He's been delaying it because just the mere thought of the resulting humiliation makes him inwardly cringe. The embarrassing wretch doesn't know even the first thing about his own abilities. It would be a debacle if he presented him to the Elders in his current state.

One morning Fugaku awakens not to his youngest son's cries of hunger nor to his wife's nudges, but to shouts and bangs on his front door.

He storms through his house and rips the front door open to roar, "_What?!_"

The Clan Police are so distracted and eager they barely notice their leader's wrath.

"Fugaku-sama, come quickly! You must see this!" One of them calls out before hurrying down the path.

Fugaku barely has time to pull a robe over his sleepwear before his relatives yank him out the door.

His demands to know what is happening fall on deaf ears as they rush him down towards the clan's large lake. As they hurry over the rise, Fugaku sees a torrent of chakra-laced fire ripping across the water's surface.

The light from the fire dies down, allowing him to see the source of the jutsu standing alone on the shoreline.

Fugaku's mouth drops.

Itachi draws in another deep breath and lets out a gout of fire larger and more brilliant than the last.

Fugaku's jaw slackens more.

Itachi draws in another breath before releasing another blast of fire. This plume is hot enough to evaporate a layer of water off the lake, causing an unnatural fog to form as the flames die away.

"Tekka-san says he's been out here since before dawn. No one noticed until a Policeman walked by about half an hour ago." The Uchiha to Fugaku's left informs him.

"Inabi-san says his Goukakyuu was pitiful at first, but he's been constantly improving its size and power. I'd say that last one was a solid B, borderline A Rank." Another Clansmen speaks up.

Fugaku slowly realizes that there's almost thirty Uchiha scattered about the rise and on the banks, all watching their future Clan Head taking his first steps toward becoming a shinobi. One of them, an Elder, notices Fugaku and approaches him.

"Amazing! Simply amazing! Fugaku-sama, it's...unspeakable! Itachi-kun's Fire affinity is unprecedented. In all my years I've never seen or even _heard_ of one of our blood capable of creating such powerful Katon jutsu at such a young age." The older man exclaims while bearing an awestruck and very un-Uchiha grin.

Fugaku nods in a daze and starts moving towards his eldest.

He slowly walks down the grassy slope and approaches his son. Even from twenty paces away he can feel the incredible heat of the flames.

Fugaku has almost reached his son when Itachi finishes a jutsu. The boy pauses, looking down at his hand to see it trembling. Fugaku recognizes it as the earliest signs of chakra exhaustion.

Without a word to anyone gathered, Itachi walks away. He doesn't even glance at his father.

Fugaku watches his son go, still mute in shock.

He's still watching the boy leave as the crowd breaks up and everyone goes about their business.

The thick mist rolls off the lake, fluttering something white in the corner of his vision.

Fugaku looks down to see the familiar scroll lying open and abandoned on the grass. Slowly, he reaches down and picks it up. He absently starts to read a few lines.

A deep shock hits him.

This isn't the scroll he intended to give his son.

Instead of the Academy-level scroll describing the basics of chakra manipulation, this scroll is a Jounin-level manual on Elemental manipulation. It details the Elements, how to determine Elemental affinity, and has brief entries on some of the known jutsu from each Elemental tree.

Fugaku notices a passage under the Wind section that has been circled in red ink. The passage explains how Wind is the ultimate combat Element and under the right circumstances it can counter or ignore the defenses of any other Element, including other Wind jutsu. It then goes on to warn that Wind and Fire have a unique interaction and in normal situations, Wind will magnify the effect of Fire jutsu.

Following the passage is a small note by the author. It's a hypothesis about the possibility that someone bearing no Fire affinity at all, but having a strong Wind affinity can wield Fire jutsu far exceeding the power of anything created by a person with the highest tier of Fire affinity.

The paper under the note is heavily worn and the ink is smudged as though a finger has been traced across the kanji countless times.

The scroll hangs limply from his hand as Fugaku stares in the direction Itachi left in.

Is it possible? Can it be the monumental feat he just witnessed was an Elemental _shortcut?_

Could the boy be the first Uchiha ever without _any_ affinity in Fire at all?

"I'm impressed, Fugaku-sama."

The Clan Head almost jumps at the voice of a Policeman looking over his shoulder and peering curiously at the scroll.

"I can't believe little Itachi-kun is already reading at such a level. My Shisui-kun has great promise as a swordsman, but he's still barely reading at the Academy level." The man comments with a shake of his head. He chuckles in disbelief before walking away to attend to his duties.

Ice floods Fugaku's veins.

The boy he always saw as a brain damaged simpleton and a waste of time.

The boy Mikoto always doted on and sheltered from the world before Sasuke came.

The boy neither of them ever taught to read.

* * *

**AN:** This chapter hasn't been officially betaed, since Mannequin has his own (vastly more interesting) projects he's been working on, but I gave it a pretty thorough read through. I'm pretty sure I caught the worst errors.

Thanks again go to Franko Vinneti, who's the reason this fic was ever written, and Mannequin of the Muse, from whom I learned a great deal about editing and refinement. Also deserving thanks is Violinmana, who answered my question of, "Should I post chapter 3 tomorrow?" with a firm, "**DO IT.**" You guys make fanfiction worth writing.

As always, feel free to let me know what you think.

-Kraken

V1.1 October 2, 2009


End file.
